The Medieval Age: Rise of the Papacy
The fall of the Roman Empire brought about another turning point for the Christian Church. No longer under the protection of Rome, the Church would need to make significant changes in order to survive the changing landscape of the world. There are two significant ways that the church changed and adapted during this time. First was the rise of Benedictine Monasticism, and secondly the creation of the Papacy. As this project is about authority and leadership structures of the Church, this article focuses on the creation and effects of the Papacy. Creation of the Papacy "Now I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church" (Matt 16:18). The Church has often pointed to this instance in Matthew as evidence that Peter was the first pope of the Christian Church. Jesus knew what was in store for him and how God's plan for the Church would rely on humankind to carry out God's mission as directed by the Holy Spirit. After the Roman Empire had been divided and conqured by the Germanic invasion, many Christian leaders sought to unify the Church by positioning the Church to exist above the political environment of the day. Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity. (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2010), 282. During the past era, the term pope (which translates to'' father'') began to refer exclusively to the person who fulfilled the role of Bishop of Rome in the West, while in the East it remained a term of respect and importance to any Bishop. Leo I became the first pope of the Church in Rome during the summer of 440. Due to the disintegrating Roman political world and the rise of heresy that threatened basic church orthodox,K.J. Bryer, "Leo I" In , in Who's Who in Christian History, ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 419. much of his efforts were focused on restoring unity within the Church between the the West (centered in Rome) and the East (centered in Constantinople) and reinforicing a strong and unified Christian orthodoxy. Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, vol. 4, The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Grand Rapids, Mich.; Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 2005), 273. Strengthening of the Papacy Leo I served to establish Rome as the center of the Christian faith, but the political turmoil from the fall of the Roman Empire was continuing and had developed into constant conflicts as the invaders all sought to establish themselves in their conquered lands. The Church in Rome grew in political power in the city, and soon began to see themselves as the protectors and caretakers of Rome, (this viewpoint traces back to Leo I meeting with Attila the Hun and convincing him not to invade Rome.) Pope Pelagius II sought to stabilize Rome during the epidemic, but succumbed to the plague in 590. Gregory I became the new pope shortly after Pelagius' death. He brought great change and reform to the Church, calling the Church to return to commitment to faithful living, promoted clerical celibacy and despite using different methods than Leo I he strengthened Rome's authority as the central seat of Christianity. Gonzalez, Christianity, 287. One of Gregory's decisions that had great influence on the church was commissioning Augustine's mission to England. Overall Gregory's thoughts and actions were not new or innovative, and much of his thought and actions was directly influenced by the writings of Augustine of Hippo and his previous monastic life.D.S. Cushman and J.D. Douglas, "Gregory I (The Great)" In , in Who's Who in Christian History, ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 286. Gregory's successors did not continue his legacy of focusing on scripture and improving the unity of the church. Further conflicts with the Eastern Church and their theological positions became detrimental to the Western Church, especially when the Church in Constantinople declared that they must confirm any election of a new Pope to become the Bishop of Rome.Gonzalez, Christianity, 289. The Papacy Chooses a New Emperor In the year 800, Pope Leo III declared Charles, the king of the Franks to be the emperor of the new empire in the West. Known commonly as Charlemange, he had significantly expanded the territory of the Franks to include nearly all of the lands that followed Western Christendom. Ibid., 315. After his corronation Charlemange submitted to the church in many areas, leading to a general adoption of Christian values for his court and the entire realm under his governance. Part of this involved giving a greater degree of freedom to ecclesiastical organization and counted Benedict of Aniane as one of his chief advisors.T.O. Kay, "Charlemagne" In , in Who's Who in Christian History, ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 152. Charlemange still used the church for self promotion during this era, but to a lesser extent than his two predecessors. During this time the relationship between Church and State grew increasingly intertwined. Difference in authority between the Church and State were hard to judge, as the two institutions had incredible control over the people of the realm. Charlemange appointed both generals and bishops alike, and institutied laws ordering Sunday to be a day of worship, requirements that preaching would be done in the language of the people, and the treatment of tithing as a tax that every person must pay. Gonzalez, Christianity, 317. Charlemange's son, Louis the Pious continued the relationship between the Church and the State, further cementing the Church's role of authority among the people. Louis sought to continue monastic reform under the advisement of Benedict of Aniane, and returned autonomy to the Church. Near the end of his reign many civil wars erupted as Lous' sons fought against each other.Ibid., 318. Growing Corruption of the Church As Carlemange's dynasty began to fall, the precident set by Leo III that the Church could appoint the next emperor caused a great deal of turmoil as different factions vied for control. During the remainder of the ninth century the integrity of the Church continued to decline, with many popes through the ninth and tenth centuries serving less than a decade in the papacy. Authority of the Church was largely related to who was the reigning military power and who the Church had appointed as emperor at the time. : Note: During the ninth century, one of the strangest events in Church history happened when Pope Stephen VI, who reigned for less than a year, had the body of his predecessor Pope Formosus exhumed and put on trial for political reasons. Overall nothing was achieved by this trial, and Pope Stephen VI was removed and imprisoned where he was strangled to death within a matter of months.F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 627. The Gregorian Reforms Pope Gregory VII (previously named Hildebrand before his rise to papacy,) brought a great deal of reformation and improvement to the Church during the early portion of his reign. Before he became pope HIldebrand was largely responsible for the College of Cardinals gaining sole control over the selection of a new pope.K.J. Bryer, "Gregory VII" In , in Who's Who in Christian History, ed. J.D. Douglas and Philip W. Comfort (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1992), 287. He initially refused the apointment of the papacy, and finally in 1073 with unanimous support of the cardinals he accepted the position. He continued the legacy of Pope Gregory in areas of accountability for the clergy and a return to monasticism and strongly believed that the models of church presented in the New Testament cannon and the monastic way of life were superior to the church's current state. His doccument Dictatus Papae consisted of 27 statements that emphasized the importance of the Roman Catholic church and the role of the Pope, and has been interpreted as either an improvement to the church, a document designed to give the Pope tyranical power in the church, or a state of emergency powers meant for a short time to address issues facing the church.Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, vol. 2, The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI; Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999-2003), 473. Unfortunately the reforms brought in by Gregory did not have a lasting impact, his conflict with Emperor Henry IV of the Germanic Empire caused relationships between the Church and State to be tested many times. The balance of authority was turmoltuous at times with Gregory excommunicating Henry twice during his time as Pope. In 1084 Gregory was forced out of Rome and Guibert (who took the name Clement III) was selected to become Pope while Gregory was still alive. Neither Gregory or the Antipope Guibert could hold the city of Rome, and Gregory spend the remainder of his life under protection by the Normans. Days before his death, Gregory revoked all of his excommunications except for Henry and Guibert. The conflict between Gregory and Guibert continued to affect the church through the papacy of the next three Popes. Lasting Effects Upon the Roman Catholic Church By and large the relationship between Church and State during the medieval era was a time of turmoil. Most popes held the papal role for less than a decade, and their decisions were made primarily by motives of political power. Gregory VII's infuence upon the church before he became pope by giving the College of Cardinals equal votes and sole responsibility in selecting the next pope should be remembered as a return to the authority structures of the early church. This change in papal decision making mirrors the example of Acts 6 where the twelve disciples gathered together in a time of prayer to discern God's will for the leadership and authority of the church. Lessons for the Church Today Gregory's desire to return the church to the New Testament models of leadership was a noble and lofty goal, one that would have been impossible to reach given the political powers and intertwined relationship of the the Church and State. One piece of our Christian doctrine that was curiously absent during the research for this project was the role of Christ as the head of the Church. It appears that despite the number of leaders who lived devout lives of following God, those who ascended to the pinacle role of leadership within the church either as a Bishop, Pope, or Emperor, did not fully realize the importance of reliance upon Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The incredible political weight upon the shoulders of the leaders caused a significant decrease in attention to matters of spiritual attention, sometimes allowing issues to go on for centuries. One area where this was incredibly clear is in the issue of clerical celibacy.Note: This is not an argument in favor of clerical celibacy, merely using it as an example of something decided as a spiritual issue that was not dealt with for nearly seven hundred years due to the political and outside pressures upon the church. The Council of Elvera in 306 called upon Bishops, Priests and Deaconds to refrain from any and all forms of sexual relations (those who were already married were called to remain maired but abstain from sex) yet it took until the Second Lutheran Council of 1139 for this rule to be enforced.Erwin Fahlbusch and Geoffrey William Bromiley, vol. 1, The Encyclopedia of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI; Leiden, Netherlands: Wm. B. Eerdmans; Brill, 1999-2003), 389. This topic itself could become an additional project, yet the lesson to be learned is this: The Church must concern itself first with spiritual matters that serve to bring about the New Kingdom and fulfill God's ongoing plan of redemption, rather than becoming caught up in the political games and methods of the current time. Works Cited